March, 1905. The Tr.\ditions of the Hopi — Voth. 263 



mesa, crossed the small valley, which is quite deep, stopped at one 

 place and then reached a small spring by the name of Oh6wikba. 

 Here they rested, as they were very thirsty and a number of them 

 were wounded. The latter asked their comrades to dress their 

 wounds the best they could then carry them home the rest of the 

 way, which was done. The Navaho party who had pursued these 

 Hopi had not followed them, they had descended the mesa at some 

 other place, but made for the village of Oraibi. In the valley where 

 the main battle-ground was, the fighting had also ceased by this 

 time. The different groups of fighting Hopi had succeeded in cut- 

 ting their way through their assailants and were running towards 

 the village, leaving a great many dead and wounded behind. The 

 Navaho had also lost very heavily, but it is said that the Navaho 

 carried their wounded away while the battle was raging, taking them 

 all to a certain place from which they later took them with them, 

 tying them on their ponies. The retreating Hopi were followed by 

 bands of Navaho, while other bands of the latter tried to outflank 

 them and to reach the village first.' 



While both parties were drawing closer to the village, the Hopi 

 retreating and the Navaho following them, more or less fighting was 

 going on, about which various details are still mentioned when the 

 events of this important day of Hopi history are related. For in- 

 stance, when the Hopi had arrived on top of the first mesa south of 

 the battle-field, six of them hid in a stone inclosure. Whether it was 

 a sheep corral or a temporary shelter that some Hopi had built, is 

 not known. Here they were at once attacked by a party of Navaho 

 whom they kept at a respectable distance with their well-directed 

 arrows. The Navaho seeing that they could not overpower these 

 men with their bows and arrows procured from some of their comrades 

 some firearms. With these they kept shooting at the imperfect in- 

 closure until they had killed five out of the six men. The sixth one 

 jumped out of the inclosure, rushed through the attacking party, 

 and jumped down at a steep though not very high place from the 



' The number killed on both sides will perhaps never be fully ascertained, but the afore- 

 mentioned Navaho, Mayalolo, who had become a member of one of the Hopi societies, later on 

 came to Oraibi, and he is authority for the statement, which the Oraibi keep reiterating, that a 

 great many more Navaho were killed than Hopi. He also stated, which of course is also substan- 

 tiated by the Hopi, that a great many Navaho ponies were also killed. It is reasonable to believe 

 that this statement is correct from the fact, already mentioned, that the Navaho were fighting 

 with naked bodies, while the Hopi were well protected by buckskins which they had wound 

 around them. It seems that they werie about equally well armed, and the courage of the Hopi 

 was probably as great as that of their assailants. The fact that the Navaho were mounted, of 

 course placed the Hopi at a disadvantage while they were fighting on even ground, but wherever 

 the Hopi could withdraw behind rocks or into other unapproachable places, the Navaho derived 

 but little benefit from their ponies. 



